Greenpeace now accepting bitcoin donations

Greennpeace, the prominent environmental activism group, announced that its United States organization will now accept bitcoin donations through BitPay, the world’s leading bitcoin payment processor. Greenpeace will become one of the first major international charities to accept bitcoin.

„Despite the name, paying with bitcoin does not mean pulling out a tiny change purse of coins. Rather, it is a new digital currency and people are starting to take notice. So much so that we thought the time was right for Greenpeace to start accepting them.”, according to Greenpeace blog.

In the release, Greenpeace explained why they go for bitcoin donations: „A majority of our support comes from individual donations made by thousands of people across the country. Meaning that we have to be constantly evolving to ensure that donors are able to support our important work in the way that’s most convenient for them. That is why we are now accepting bitcoin donations.”

There is also a technical reason. When a donation is made using a credit card or other payment provider, a significant percentage of each gift, around 3%, is lost to the process. There is no fee associated with a bitcoin donation through BitPay securing the entire donation goes towards Greenpeace campaigns.

“BitPay strives to bring bitcoin to nonprofits like Greenpeace,” said to finextra.com, Elizabeth Ploshay, BitPay Non-Profit Account Manager. ”For each bitcoin donation Greenpeace gets 100% of what is being donated increasing the amount of each donation received.”

Those who wants to help, can donate using credit card, paperless check or PayPal account. For Greenpeace, bitcoin is more like adding another option and not an replacement.

„It is highly unlikely that bitcoin will replace any of the above mentioned forms of payment in the foreseeable future. After all, it took decades for the Internet to cross over into widespread use. We’re just adding another option for those supporters who would like to use the bitcoin method.”

Several organizations and companies are also starting to accept bitcoin acknowledging its growing use and benefits. Companies including Overstock and Expedia, nonprofits including Wikipedia and now Greenpeace and even local food trucks are accepting bitcoin.
„More merchants will most likely start accepting bitcoin as more processing options become available and the payment method becomes more mainstream.”, concludes Greanpeace.